


things that go bump into the night

by TheBobcatHews



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Genre: Alternate Universe, Changes were made to Buffy's mythology, Crossover, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 15:49:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11672232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBobcatHews/pseuds/TheBobcatHews
Summary: Freshman student Kimberly Ann Hart considers herself to be one of the luckiest girls in the world. Popular, beautiful and she always gets what she wants. Her life is perfect, well, except maybe for her parents' divorce and the strange violent dreams about women fighting all sort of monster she had all her life, but besides that she has a life any student at Angel Grove High would like to have, even though Angel Grove is probably not the safest town in the world with all the mysterious occurrences, but every town has them, right? Although, ever since a particular dream, Kimberly's been feeling different. What could it be? Is it related to the wave of gruesome and ritualistic murders that have been happening? Do her weird nightmares have some sort of message? And why would the school counselor Mr. Zordon want to see her? Well, Kim sure is in for a surprise.[Indefinite Hiatus]





	things that go bump into the night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always wanted to write a Buffy/PR mix where the Rangers are put in the place of the Scoobies. So, here is my attempt. And what better date than the 25th anniversary of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie as well as being also the year Buffy's series turned 20? 
> 
> As stated in one of the tags, I made some changes to the mythology from Buffy that will become more apparent as the story continues. Nothing too major but there will be differences.

**Aokigahara, Yamashi Prefecture, Chuubu Region, Honshu, Japan**

**February 14, 1992**  

The rain poured down with an impressive strength. The darkened skies made it difficult for the girl to see her surroundings but she kept walking through the thick forests, following her senses to where she needed to be. The ritual needed to be here, in this place of death, and she needed to stop him from performing it. She stopped for a second, closing her eyes, checking once again if she was on the right path. A chill ran through her whole body and she snapped her eyes open. He was close.

She began to run, feeling in her guts the malign energy rising. She could see a small hill in front of her and faint whisperings coming from there. She found him. She checked her belt for her weapons, making sure they were all there. She wished Odagari-san was here with her, but this was her job. After all, ‘she alone’.

As she was about to begin climbing the hill, several figures dropped from the top of it and landed around her, circling her. The humanoid creatures were pitch black, their bodies seemingly made of a tar-like substance. On both of their knees and their bellies, there were three large demonic eyes. From beneath their black substance skin, an orange glow moved around.

<Not tired of sending your Grinams to fight me?> The girl asked loudly.

<I believed you would appreciate the gesture, for old times’ sake. After all, what better way to die if not with the one you fought for so long.> A masculine, but twisted voice answered from above the hill.

The creatures, the Grinams, charged at the girl. She had fought them for almost two years now and already knew the dos and don’ts of fighting them. She avoided any direct physical contact with their red hands and used a bat from her belt with the top surrounded by a strange type of metal. She swung the bat and made sure it hit the creatures, causing them injuries. She couldn’t defeat them as using fire during the rain would be quite tricky, but she could still beat them up enough for them to not get in her way.

After minutes of beating them to pulps but suffering severe burns in the process, the girl climbed the hill using her remaining strength. She knew why he sent the Grinams, he wanted her to spend her energy on them rather than on him, but she wasn’t about to give up. Not now, not ever.

She reached the top of the hill and saw him standing on the top of a giant glowing blue symbol, currents of ethereal energy dancing around him as he kept chanting. She could notice his weakened state. The cracks in the armor, the crooked posture, the frantic sound of his voice. He was desperate but that didn’t mean she should let her guard down.

<You’ve seen better days, Radiguet.> The girl commented, making him turn to see her.

<Rokumeikan Kaori. I could say the same thing to you.> The creature taunted back

Kaori, a girl of sixteen years old, dressed in white with stains and burns, stood her ground as she looked into the face of the one she came to consider her nemesis. Radiguet had blue skin and was dressed in ripped white clothes underneath damaged silver armor. Far from the intimidating creature she faced the first time.

<Came to stop me, did you?> Radiguet asked in a condescending voice.

<It’s my job.> Kaori said simply.

<Yes. The Slayer’s job. What a lonely one it must be.> Radiguet commented.

<You’ve tried your mind tricks on me before, but not this time.> Kaori said defiantly.

<And what makes you think **this** time is the one? > Radiguet asked with a laugh.

<I just know.> Kaori said as rushed against him.

Radiguet blocked her first attacks and delivered some blows to her face but the girl wasn’t backing down. He threw the bat she used to fight the Grinams away but she produced a small custom made kendo shinai and advanced on him. The material of this particular shinai was different, made from something with a supernatural property as he could feel an extreme pain whenever she hit him with it. He tried to grab it and pry it out of her hands but his palm sizzled, making him drop it and giving Kaori a chance to butterfly kick him in the face, throwing him on the floor.

<You had your chance, Radiguet.> Kaori commented as she watched him in pain on the floor. <You tried turning into a higher demon, and looked at what happened?>

<If it hadn’t been for you.> Radiguet said lowly. He had his back to her and slowly reached for something inside his robes. <This time, you won’t stop me!>

Before Kaori could react, Radiguet jumped from the floor and tackled her. Kaori let out a scream as a jagged dagger pierced her stomach. Radiguet twisted it, making the girl in white fall to her knees. He left the dagger there as he went back to the circle of the ritual.

<You have been a pest in all my plans, but not this one!> He laughed maniacally. <I call the spirits of all the dead and they will grant me a chance!>

<A chance?> Kaori asked weakly. Why was he doing this for a simple chance?

<A chance to talk to the Old Ones!> He continued laughing maniacally. <Once they hear me, they will understand my plea and make me one of them!>

He was insane, that Kaori knew for sure but one thing she learned was that he wasn’t always wrong, so she needed to stop him, by all means necessary. As he kept busy with the ritual thinking she was just dying, she took out the dagger from her stomach, trying not to make any sound. From her belt, she took two things: one syringe, half-filled with a strange substance and another empty one. That was her only chance. Using the half-filled syringes, she plunged the needle in her wound, gritting her teeth, and inserted all the liquid inside her. Immediately, she felt the burning sensation through her entire blood stream. Her vision became blurry and her body started to shake. Before the side effects became worse, she jammed the other syringe in her neck and drew her now infected blood, filling the syringe. She looked at the strangely colored blood in it while she wobbled on her feet but she shook her head to focus. It was time

She got up slowly, trying to control her legs. She approached him silently and from her belt, she took her last weapon: a very sharp stake. She smiled at it. It was her first stake, given by her Watcher. Taking advantage of his distraction, she summoned all her strength left and jammed her steak on his exposed neck. Radiguet howled in pain and turned around surprised to see Kaori still alive.

<How did you…?> He said as tried to take the stake out.

Once it was out, Kaori jumped on him, making both hit the floor, the ethereal energies around them already getting angry apparently. She prepared the syringe and looked at his eyes.

<Stupid girl!> He yelled as he tried to get her off him. <Don’t you see the forces are about the rebel?>

<Then it’s time to make it even worse.> She raised the syringe and jammed it into the hole she made with the syringe.

Finally, Radiguet was able to take her off him and stumbled to stand, one of his hands covering the wound. <What? What did you do to me?>

<I mixed my blood, the blood of the Slayer,> Kaori said with her breath getting slower. <With what was left of Semimaru’s.>

<No… No, No!> Radiguet yelled as he felt his body already changing. <Do you have any idea of what you have done?>

<Yes.> She answered simply.

<You committed both of us to death!> Radiguet yelled in rage and moved to attack but fell to her knees, coughing up blood.

<I don’t care if I go as long as you go too.> Kaori said. She was already fading.

<You will,> Radiguet coughed, also collapsing on the floor. <You cursed herself. You trapped yourself. You essence belongs to this place now. You chose your death!>

<It doesn’t matter.> Kaori said bravely. <Your fate. It will be worse than mine will.>

Before Radiguet could say anything, his entire body began to convulse and soon, his physical body began to decay and a blue ooze dripped from the remaining husk. Not after too long, there was nothing left of him anymore. The ritual lights and the ethereal energies dispersed.

Kaori breathed, happy that she accomplished her mission. She hoped Ogari-san would be proud of her, even though she did it this way. Moreover, she hoped, in the end, she had avenged Rie. With a last breath, she forced herself to close her eyes and left this world. The Slayer was no more.

\--

**Angel Grove, California, USA**

**February 15, 1992**

An American girl woke up with a scream. Outside was still dark. Her entire body was trembling. Yet another nightmare of women fighting monsters, but this one… she could feel the girl, like the two were the same. She felt the fight, the pain, and even her death.

“Kimberly?” It was her dad. He just entered the room, a worried expression on his face. “Are you okay? I heard you screaming.”

The girl in question was Kimberly Ann Hart, a recently turned 15-year-old freshman student. She was petite girl with a pale complexion, a brown, almost auburn hair with a fashionable short cut. Her brown eyes clearly expressed her fear but she gave her dad a wide smile.

“I’m fine daddy,” She said sweetly, not wanting to worry her dad. “It was just another nightmare, nothing serious.”

Her father looked at her for a few more moments, before nodding and giving her a kiss on her forehead. “I just worry about these nightmares you have.”

“They are not that many!” Kimberly lied. She simply hated talking about them but it was hard to hide them from her family. At least, no one else knew about them, and she never told anyone what the nightmares were actually about.

“If you say so, sweetie,” He got up and glanced at an alarm clock next on her nightstand. “Try to get some more sleep. Still got a few hours before sunrise.”

Kimberly nodded and lied back on her pillow, her heart still racing and the images of the nightmare flashing in her mind. Usually, the next day she would get rid of them. She remembered she had the nightmares, she just didn’t remember the details. She just hoped the same thing would happen with this one.

“Why did it feel different?” She whispered to herself before closing her eyes.

\--

**Angel Grove, California, USA**

**February 21, 1992**

The Friday mornings at the Hart household were always quite the same. Kimberly and her dad, Cody Hart, would eat their breakfast before Kim would ride to school with one of her older friends from her school while her dad would go to his office. Yet, it was never a normal morning when Blanche Hart, Kim’s mother, decided to drop by. Unannounced, as always.

She didn’t ring the doorbell and left herself in. She gave her attempt of a smile to Kimberly and turned to face her ex-husband with her stony face. She opened her purse and handed him a big file of papers that she unceremoniously dropped on the table. Cody gave her a look that could kill.

“And this is?” Cody asked. “I thought everything of the divorce was already handled. Not married anymore, remember?”

“Yes, thank goodness,” Blanche commented. “But this isn’t about the divorce. It’s about Casey.”

“What about Casey?” Cody asked, his voice already raising.

“As you know, I’m moving to France with my new fiancée and we are taking Casey with us. So these are the papers that explain that from now on, I’m going to have full custody of him.”

“You bitch!” Cody couldn’t hold his tongue in front of Kimberly. “That is my son you are talking about! He’s not just yours! Wasn’t enough you didn’t give him my last name?”

Blanche only rolled her eyes. “Don’t make a scene, Cody. Casey is a baby and he’ll have a better life than here. Besides, you have Kimberly, right sweetie?”

Kimberly discreetly avoided the eye contact from her mother.

“And, whenever is that you have money to travel to Paris,” Blanche commented with a hint of venom. “You can contact me and we can discuss a visit.”

“I can’t, I simply can’t believe you.” Cody got up from the table, and Kimberly was almost sure he was about to hit his mother, but Blanche didn’t seem to be scared. Before anyone could make a move, the telephone rang.

Kimberly excused herself from the table and answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Kiki!” It was one of her school friends. “I’m downstairs, so get your ass down here pronto, kay? Kisses!”

She hung up the phone and turned to her bickering parents. “I have to go, my ride is here.”

Cody looked at her. “You didn’t even finish your breakfast.”

Kim smiled. “It’s okay. I’ll eat something on the cafeteria.”

She grabbed her stuff and headed to the door of their apartment. “See you later, Dad.”

“Have a nice day at school, Kimberly!” Blanche said with overly sugary voice.

Kimberly just turned to face her and nodded, closing the door and leaving the two to continue their discussion. She hated this! She hated this so much! She sighed, remembering that she had to show control. She adjusted her head and took out some makeup from her purse to apply while she rode the elevator down.

Once she left the building, she was her normal self. Parked in front of one the trees that surrounded her building, was the latest top of the line car with its hood up. On the driver’s seat, was a gorgeous blonde girl dressed in the latest and most expensive clothes, covered in jewelry and waved at her with perfectly manicured nails. This was Muffy Autumn, the Queen of Angel Grove High, as well as the mentor of Kimberly, for reasons that the freshman couldn’t still understand since she was a senior and captain of the cheerleading squad but for some reason, she ‘adopted’ Kimberly under her wings.

“Looking fabulous as always, girl!” Muffy complimented, started the car and started driving towards the high school.

“Thanks,” Kim said with a smile. “You look fantastic too!”

“Girl, I know!” Muffy laughed. “So, you know, I heard someone from the football team is like totally into you!”

“Who?” Kimberly asked surprised. Most football players were older. She never thought they would look at a freshman.

“I don’t really know his actual name.” Muffy commented, trying to remember the information.

“His actual name?” Kimberly asked laughing. “What do you know then? His nickname or something?”

“His initials, actually,” Muffy said laughing too. “What is with these guys that need to come up with names to sound tougher, right? Well, anyways, it’s JDF. Ring any bells?”

“JDF?” Kimberly asked and immediately wrinkled her nose. “If it’s the same guy, I totally pass!”

“Girl! You have some gut in rejecting an older guy!” Muffy commented but she didn’t seem mad. “I give you mad respect! But what’s the deal with initials boy?”

“If it is the same guy I heard about, he’s a complete douche,” Kimberly said. “Cher and the other girls tell me he treats women like they are their property or something.”

“Ugh! Males.” Muffy rolled her eyes. “He is pretty hot though, so maybe just one make-out session and can kick him to the curb?”

“Muffy!” Kimberly laughed.

“What?” Muffy asked obviously faking innocence. “Guys do it all the times with girls! Why shouldn’t we have the same right as they do?”

Kimberly shook her head laughing. “You are hilarious! But come on, you know I’m not like that.”

“Right” Muffy smiled. “You’re still the innocent and fair freshman lady who wants to be swept off her feet by a prince riding a white horse, am I right?”

“Not really,” Kimberly answered honestly. “I just don’t like people like that. I like nice and friendly people.”

Muffy gave her a confused look.

“As in boys!” Kimberly explained a bit quickly. “I prefer nice and friendly boys!”

“Well, honey,” Muffy let out a dramatic sigh. “Good luck with that!”

“What about you?” Kimberly decided to give some attention to the older girl. “Any cutesy boys on your radar?”

“When is that not the case?” Muffy asked smugly, making Kimberly laugh. “There’s this big, tall and perfectly tanned basketball player, you know?”

“No.” Kimberly answered since that could describe a lot of the players.

“Well, I can’t remember his name now,” Muffy made a face trying, to remember. “Not the point anyway and I can’t give myself wrinkles for thinking too much. We’ll ask the other girls when we get to school.”

Kimberly nodded with a smile. Some people had a lot of things to say about Muffy Autumn but she always made Kimberly feel better. The bubblegum pop song they were hearing on the radio got interrupted by a breaking news report.

“And the mysterious grave robberies continue to leave the police of Angel Grove baffled. Until now, there’s been more than-”

“Ugh!” Muffy made a face of disgust. “Why would they broadcast that to everybody? Who wants to know about some creeps robbing the bones of already dead people? Disgusting!”

“Totally!” Kimberly agreed. It was disgusting, yet… something inside her told her it was more than just disgusting.

\--

After arriving at Angel Grove High, Muffy and Kimberly went to sit at the biggest table available in front to the school, which of course, belonged to the cheerleading squad. Besides the two new arrivals, there were already nine other girls waiting for them.

“Hey, bitches.” Muffy greeted all the girls in the table as she sat with Kimberly sitting right next to her. “So, any juicy gossip?”

“There is a new guidance counselor in school.” Miranda Kilgalen, a Black junior student who was the meanest of them, commented. “His name is Mr. Zordon or something.”

“So?’ Muffy asked as if this qualified as a gossip.

“Mr. Zordon?” Cher Horowitz, another blonde junior student, who was one of the few one besides Muffy who Kim really liked, asked. “What kind of name is that?”

“Are we **really** still talking about this?” Muffy asked the whole table.

The girls in the table started exchanging looks, trying to think about another interesting thing to tell their captain.

“Oh!” Veronica Lodge, a brunette senior student, raised her hand. Her sense of fashion was one of the deadliest in the whole school.

“Spill.” Muffy ordered.

“Rumor has it that Angela Griggs is pregnant!” She said, shocking all the girls on the table.

“Angela Griggs?” Muffy asked. “Isn’t she a freshman?”

“Yeah!” Veronica confirmed.

“But,” Kimberly began to speak. “Is anyone saying who the father is?”

Veronica exchanged a quick look with Muffy before turning to Kimberly. “They are saying it’s Zack Taylor?”

“Zack?!” Kimberly couldn’t believe it.

“They say he got her pregnant and now he doesn’t want anything with her.” Libby Chessler, a brunette and only other freshman in the team commented with venom in her voice. She always sounded bitter.

“That,” Kimberly shook her head. “That doesn’t sound like Zack.”

“Oh, come on, Kiki!” Muffy gently shoved her. “It’s not like you are friends with that loser anymore. Or any of those other losers you used to hang out with in elementary and junior high.”

“Like that Jason guy who dropped the football team right in the middle of the season!” Heather Chandler, a curly haired dirty blonde junior commented. She was very prim and always spoke with an ‘I-am-above-you-all’ tone. Except with Muffy.

“Or that nerd Billy Cranston, who thinks he so much better than everybody else just because he’s a Brainiac!” Kelly Taylor, a blond senior, spat. She was the poster child for the completely cliché ditzy blonde girl.

“And let’s not talk about Trini Kwan!” Blair Waldorf, a very pretty brunette junior and probably one of the richest girls in school, laughed. “You know everybody around here says she a lesbo!”

All the girls laughed, except for Kimberly, who only faked laughed. Sure, she wasn’t friends with them anymore, still, there was no need for that. Before they could continue gossiping, the bell rang, and they all started packing their things and going their separate directions.

“Don’t forget we have practice today after school!” Muffy shouted. “And if you miss it, I’ll kill you! Bye bitches!”

Kimberly looked at Libby, the only other freshman on the team but she simply ignored her and walked away. It was quite clear she didn’t like her. That didn’t really bother Kimberly, though. At least Cher waved her bye and wished her a nice day. As she walked towards the building for her first class, she felt like someone was watching. She turned around and looked in every direction, only finding students and faculty members going on about their days. She shook her head and hurried, not wanting to arrive late at her class.

From the other side of the patio, a tall, very pale man watched her. He was dressed in a gray suit with a greenish-blue tie and had his head shaved. He looked intently at Kimberly before turning away and entering another building.

\--

The school day was normal for Kimberly, but today, it felt a little bit different. Maybe it was because today she had classes with all her ‘loser past friends’ the other girls from the cheerleading squad made fun of earlier.

She had geography class with Jason Lee Scott, a boy who looked way bigger and muscular for a 15-year-old freshman. He used to be a football player but from what Kimberly knew, he gave it up to study martial arts. Nobody at school liked that, since he was one of their best players, especially the team, and from what she heard neither did his family. That didn’t stop him though. He continued training Martial Arts, and he was probably quite good at them now. Well, not that she knew anyway…

Zack Taylor was in her computer science class. While many would be quick to judge him just by the color of skin, most didn’t know that Zack was one of the most fun people to be around. He was also a great dancer and helped inner city kids with several projects, which gave him a complete wrong impression of him. What most people didn’t know was that Zack came from a very wealthy family, he just didn’t like to advertise like some other people from Angel Grove High…

Her next class, Chemistry, was with Billy Cranston, a very shy and reclusive pale boy with light blonde hair and blue eyes behind thick glasses. He always dressed in very baggy overalls, and whenever he spoke, most people though he spoke with bigger words just to show how much he knew more than others. He was the victim of most bullies in Angel Grove High, which made Kim feel so bad for him because she knew what a loving person he really was…

Her last class of the day was History, which she shared it with Trini Kwan. Trini had always been a mysterious girl. She was calm, reserved but wasn’t afraid to speak her mind. She was always participating in rallies to save the environment and other things like that. She was a fighter, like Jason, but she knew Kung-Fu as far as Kim knew. What people didn’t know was that she was sweet girl and extremely friendly, and just because others thought she had masculine hobbies, didn’t mean she didn’t have a feminine side…

After the bell rang, she kept thinking of them. They were all friends back in elementary school and for most part of junior high but things started to change and Kimberly found herself with new friends and things she always dreamed of having. Thing is… she couldn’t have both, so…

“Ms. Hart.” She heard her name from the intercom. “Ms. Hart, please. Your presence is required at the principal’s office. Ms. Hart, your presence is required the principal’s office.”

Kimberly looked around at the people whispering about her but ignored them and went to the principal’s office to see what was going on. The principal had never called her into his office.

Not long after waiting for some time, she entered the office. Mr. Caplan, an older man with an obvious toupee and dressed in deep purple colors motioned with his hands for her to sit in front of him.

“Hello, Ms. Hart,” He greeted her with smile. “I don’t think we’ve officially met before.”

“No, we haven’t, sir.” Kimberly answered also with a smile.

“Well, you must be wondering why I would call you here then.” He folded his hands together on his table.

“Can’t say I’m not curious,” Kimberly laughed but stopped immediately. “Am I in some sort of trouble?”

“No!” Mr. Caplan waved his hands. “Not at all. I just wanted to talk to you about your psychological evaluation.”

“My… psychological evaluation?” She asked confused.

“Yes, well, you see,” Mr. Caplan took out some files from a drawer underneath his desk. “We have a new guidance counselor who asked me if he could talk to some students he didn’t have any information on them. And your name was one of the first he pointed out to me.”

“Oh.” Kimberly still thought this was strange. “So, is this something… obligatory? I mean, I know I’m right in the head, so… why should I see the school counselor?”

“Ms. Hart,” Mr. Caplan gave her a reprehending smile. “I think it’s important that all students have at least a file with him. Don’t you want all of our school to be mentally healthy?”

Kimberly considered the question for a second but she already knew the answer the principal was expecting. “Of course, Mr. Caplan.”

“That is what I like to hear!” Mr. Caplan grabbed a pen and a notepad. “When can I schedule your appointment for today?”

“Today?” Kimberly asked.

“Well, no time like today, don’t you think?”

Kimberly urged the feeling to sigh but closed her eyes for a second before facing the principal again. “Well, Mr. Caplan, the thing is that I have cheerleading practice after school and…”

“So, I can schedule with him after your practice.” That wasn’t even an offer. He handed her a small note. “That’s his office here in school and the time he’ll be expecting you. Thanks for your cooperation, Ms. Hart.”

Kimberly smiled and got up, and only when she had her back to the principal, she rolled her eyes and sighed.

\--

Practice was over and all the girls had finished showering and getting their things ready. They were discussing a place to hang out and Muffy asked Kimberly her opinion. The girl was so distracted that she didn’t hear it the first time.

“Earth to Kimberly!” Muffy snapped her fingers in front of her face. “What planet were you orbiting?”

“Oh!” Kimberly waved her hand dismissively. “It’s just that I won’t be able to join you girls this afternoon. Sorry.”

“Why the hell not?” Muffy demanded.

“I have an appointment with the new school counselor. Principal’s orders.” She explained.

“That sucks!” Nicole Julian, a short-haired blonde junior, commented. Although Kim knew well she was just saying that to try to get points with Muffy. Definitely the most untrustworthy of the bunch, by a long stretch.

“Hopefully you are not some wacko!” Regina George, a long-haired blonde junior who was almost as beautiful as Muffy, laughed. She was the only one that actually had the courage to talk back to Muffy.

“Shut your hole, Regina!” Muffy scorned and turned to Kim. “Well, we’ll probably be at the plaza. If he doesn’t suck your brain out or anything, come and join us.”

All the girls said their goodbyes, making Kimberly sigh. She put her cheerleading equipment in the locker and grabbed her purse and bag, heading to the counselor’s room. She still had some time before she arrived there too late.

\--

She knocked on the door and waited for a response. She noticed the name on the window simply said ‘Mr. Zordon’. There was no first name. Strange.

“Come in, please.” A faintly British accented male voice came from inside the room.

She opened the door and it immediately took her aback by the sheer quantity of books the medium sized room had, as well different kinds of pieces of art. The man sitting behind the desk was the same one that had watched her early, the one dressed in gray with a bald head.

“Hey,” Kimberly gave him a small wave. “I’m-”

“Kimberly Hart.” He interrupted. “I was expecting you. Please, sit down.”

Kimberly nodded and sat. She looked around while Mr. Zordon went through some paper files. He looked at her, who still looked at everything in the room and cleared his throat. She gave him a small apologetic smile.

“So, Ms. Hart,” Mr. Zordon began. “Or do you prefer Kimberly?”

She shrugged. “You can call me whatever.”

“Okay then, Ms. Hart,” He flipped around some of the pages of the file he had on his hands. “I don’t see nothing of the ordinary. You are 15-years-old, a freshman, already part of the cheerleading squad. It says here you used to be a gymnast before you entered high school.”

“Oh. Yeah.” She nodded. “I quit after I became a cheerleader.”

“I see,” He kept looking at the files. “Your grades are… normal. They could be better but nothing to worry about too much. Guess you just need a little bit more of focus.”

Kimberly got a little uncomfortable with that but nodded in agreement. Anything to get her out of there as soon as possible.

“There seems to be nothing out of the ordinary here.” Mr. Zordon declared.

“Well,” She already grabbed her things, ready to get up. “Then there is nothing really to discuss, is there?”

Mr. Zordon looked straight into her eyes, which made Kimberly shiver. “There are… two exceptions though.”

Kimberly let her things fall to the floor. What exceptions?

“It says here that you were caught sleeping during study hall.” Mr. Zordon read.

“Well, you see,” Kimberly started to explain. “The thing is that I didn’t have a really good night sleep, so I just couldn’t help it.”

“The teacher that was there heard you screaming in your sleep.” Mr. Zordon said.

“Oh.”

“The teacher said you were saying things such as ‘kill the creature’, ‘they are all dead’, ‘blood is everywhere, ‘I have to kill them all’,” Mr. Zordon read the filed. “Among other very similar and quite violent things.”

Kimberly laughed nervously. She remembered that day. She had one of **those** dreams. “Well, it was just a nightmare, you know?”

Mr. Zordon said nothing, just stared at her again, and went back to the file. “It also says that you broke the jaw of a quarterback player when he tried to force himself into one of your friends a few days ago.”

“Right.” Kimberly remembered that too. Some stupid jock was harassing Cher. “Well, you see he wasn’t getting the point across that she wasn’t interested so I… so I…”

“Acted in instinct.” Mr. Zordon finished for her with a small smile.

“More like I acted in defense of my friend.” Kimberly said. “I don’t really fight, you know.”

“Yet, you were able to break the jaw of a young man much bigger than you.” Mr. Zordon pointed out. “Also, according to the records, you didn’t suffer any injuries from it.”

“Lucky shot, I guess.” Kimberly said, trying to convince him because the truth was that she didn’t know why she didn’t get hurt, or even why her instinct was to punch him.

Mr. Zordon closed the file and got up. He circled the table and went to one his bookshelves. He grabbed a thick and old book and contemplated it for a moment.

“Do you believe in destiny, Ms. Hart?” Mr. Zordon asked completely serious.

“Destiny?” Kimberly frowned. “Hum… I don’t…. I don’t think so. What does that have to do with anything?”

“What if I told you have a destiny?” Mr. Zordon asked. “What if I told that these incidents are part of it?”

“Screaming in my dreams and breaking jaws is part of my destiny?” Kimberly laughed and then scoffed. “What kind crappy destiny is that? Look, I don’t know what you want, but I’m leaving.”

Kimberly got up and headed towards the door.

“What about the dreams?” Mr. Zordon asked. “Don’t you think they would be part of your destiny?”

“Dreams?” She stopped in her tracks but she had her back still turned to him.

“The dreams you had, like the one in the study hall.” Mr. Zordon explained.

“Look,” She still didn’t turn around. “Everybody has dreams. Bad dreams and nightmares. They have nothing to do with destiny.”

“What if they were dreams that showed you other women?” Mr. Zordon asked.

This made Kimberly turn to him with her eyes bulged out. “How do…?”

“You have dreamt of other women, haven’t you?” Mr. Zordon said. “Not just any women. Women in the past, fighting creatures of nightmare, monsters, demons, things you never thought really existed.”

Kimberly was in complete silence.

“And if I am not mistaken,” Mr. Zordon took a few steps closer to her. “Not too many days ago you had a dream of a Japanese girl who died in a forest.”

“Yeah…” Kimberly’s voice trembled. “And it was different from the other dreams. I mean, I know I had them, but I could never really remember them but this last one… felt so much more real than anything I experienced in my life.”

“You saw the death of Rokumiekan Kaori.” Of Kimberly’s questioning look, Mr. Zordon continued. “She was a Slayer. She died saving the world from a creature called Radiguet.”

“Slayer?”

“That is what you are now, the Slayer.” Mr. Zordon said solemnly. “Kaori died, so a new Slayer was Called. You are the one who dreamt of her death, so you were Called to take her place as the Slayer.”

“Okay, okay, okay!” Kimberly raised her hands and started walking around the office. “Just because you know about my dreams… and somehow know very specific details about this particular dream, doesn’t mean…”

“I can prove it to you,” Mr. Zordon offered. “If you like.”

“Prove it to me?” Kimberly asked. “Prove what?”

“That your dreams make sense. That you are the Slayer.” Mr. Zordon said seriously. “That you have a destiny.”

Kimberly didn’t know how to respond. All of this… it had to be just another crazy dream.

“I know it’s hard to believe it,” Mr. Zordon said. “But you know, deep down, I’m not lying. That your dreams, they have a meaning.”

“And you can show their meaning to me?” Kimberly asked weakly.

Mr. Zordon nodded.

Kimberly found herself lost.

“I can prove it, Ms. Hart.” Mr. Zordon said with the most sincerity he could muster.

“How?”

Mr. Zordon sighed. “Well, now comes the hard part.”

\--

The sun had already set and Kimberly found herself inside Mr. Zordon’s car. She had never seen some sort of British car like this around town. She could only hope no one she knew would see her inside that car. Worst yet would be if they saw her there with an older man like him.

“So not how I wanted to spend my Friday night.” Kimberly sighed looking out the window.

“What do you mean?” Zordon asked genuinely not understanding.

Kimberly turned to him with an eyebrow raised. “Me, a teenager at the flower of my youth, find myself in an old car with an older man who is taking me somewhere he doesn’t want to tell me. Truth be told, I don’t even really know why I agreed to come with you! Gosh knows who you really are!”

Zordon sighed calmly. “I already told, Ms. Hart, you don’t need to be afraid of me. I’m not going to do anything to harm you.”

“Wouldn’t that be exactly what a predator would say to an innocent little girl?” She asked him mockingly.

“I suppose,” Zordon cleared his throat. “You shouldn’t fear, in any case. You can strike me down, just like you did with that player.”

Kimberly turned away from him, not wanting to acknowledge that. He was right though. Any funny business from him, she would be rethinking her ‘I don’t fight’ speech. She felt the car slowing down and realized where they were stopping at. Oh, that was just great.

“You took me to a graveyard?” She asked him unbelievably as he was already leaving the car carrying a large bag with him. “Hey! I’m talking to you!”

“What seems to be the problem, Ms. Hart?” Zordon asked quite normally for someone who was about to enter a graveyard at night.

“You said you were going to take me to a place where you could prove my destiny to me,” Kimberly said and pointed to the gates of the graveyard with an ‘are-you-serious’ look. “The graveyard? That’s the place?”

“Yes.” He answered simply and began walking inside but he noticed the girl wasn’t following him, so he turned back to face her.

“Are you really expecting me to go in there, just with you, at night?” Kimberly crossed her arms. “Stranger danger, anyone?”

Zordon resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Teenage girls. “I can explain more about what is your destiny, but I do have to also show it to you, not just say. You won’t believe me.”

“I already don’t believe you, pal!” Kimberly said a little angry. “You brought me to a graveyard.”

“Does that mean you are not coming with me?” Zordon asked.

Kimberly sighed and looked around, seeing almost no one. Then again, walking around a graveyard at night wasn’t exactly a fun activity. She uncrossed her arms, fixed her hair, adjusted her purse and followed him.

“Lead the way,” She said as she passed him.

The two walked way into the graveyard. Kimberly was quite scared, looking everywhere, while Zordon simply walked looking straightforward towards their destination. The silence and the small noises she was hearing around the place were really getting on her nerves.

“Okay,” She said almost too loudly. “So… Slayer.”

“Yes?” Zordon turned to look at her.

“You said I was Called to be one.” Kimberly remembered.

“Yes, you did,” Zordon nodded. “The moment the last Slayer died, you assumed her position.”

“But,” Kimberly scratched her head. “I didn’t get any calls.”

“What?” Zordon asked confused.

“You said after she died, I was Called,” Kimberly repeated. “But nobody called me to say I was a Slayer.”

Zordon almost laughed but retained his composure. “It’s a term, Ms. Hart. When a Slayer dies, another one is chosen and receives the powers. This process is what the ‘being Called’ means.”

“Oh!” Kimberly nodded, not really getting it. “So there isn’t like actual calls involved.”

“No, there aren’t.” Zordon reassured her.

“But you just said I got powers.” Kimberly stopped and grabbed his arms making him stop. “What kind of powers?”

“You know one.” Zordon told her.

“I do?” She tried to recall what kind of power she had. “My dreams?”

“Well, they are a part of the Slayer’s powers,” Zordon said. “But Potentials also have them.”

“Potentials?” Okay, things were getting more and more confusing.

“I will explain everything, don’t you worry,” Zordon confirmed and resumed his walking. “I am talking about your strength.”

“My strength?” Kimberly asked then she immediately remembered the incident with the jock. “So, what, I have like super strength now?”

“Supernatural strength, to be more precise.” Zordon explained. “You are much stronger than humans and quite more than most creatures, however, that does not mean you are the strongest woman in the world, Ms. Hart. You must always remember that.”

Kimberly simply nodded. Wow, she was super strong.

“Do I get any other powers?” Kimberly asked somewhat excitedly. “Oh! Can I fly? Oh, oh, oh! Can I shoot, like, beams from my hands or eyes or something like that?”

Zordon regarded her for moment, completely at a loss for words, before shaking his head. “I am afraid not.”

“Oh.” She pouted, clearly disappointed.

“You are a Slayer, Ms. Hart, not a superhero.” Zordon clarified.

“Superheroes have super strength.” Kimberly commented lightly.

Zordon just chose to ignore her. He opened his bag, took out a newspaper from it, and handed it to Kimberly. She looked at him funnily but she read the headline. It was about the grave robberies she had heard on the radio that morning.

“Are we here to investigate this?” Kimberly asked clearly grossed out.

“Have you heard about them?” Zordon asked.

“Briefly,” Kimberly handed the newspaper back to him. “What does grave robberies have to do with me being a Slayer?”

“It’s part of your job as a Slayer.” Zordon said simply.

“My job?” Kimberly asked surprised. “You mean being a Slayer is like a job? How much do I get paid? What are the fringe benefits?”

Zordon once again simply ignored her and stopped with Kimberly stopping too. Both of them looked at an empty grave and from the looks of it, someone had opened it recently. Zordon kneeled down and looked inside it while Kimberly stayed behind, clearly uncomfortable.

“The bones were taken.” Zordon said.

“Wait, they are robbing bones?” Kimberly asked. “I thought they were robbing corpses. Like, not skeletons.”

Zordon simply pointed at the date of death at the grave’s tombstone. Kimberly couldn’t see the name of the person, but they had died almost 50 years ago.

“I still don’t get why,” Kimberly said and patted Zordon shoulder making him face her. “Care to explain?”

Zordon got up and adjusted his suit. “Someone has been stealing bones for a nefarious purpose.”

“Nefarious?” Kimberly didn’t really know what that word meant. “So… for something bad.”

“Quite bad.” Zordon said and walked away from the open grave. “If whoever is doing this is stealing only bones, it definitely has to do with the black arts.”

“Wow, wait, black arts?” Kimberly asked. “As in… magick?”

“Precisely.” Zordon nodded.

Kimberly looked at him for a moment before laughing, which resulted in Zordon giving her a disapproving look.

“Come on,” Kimberly put her hands on her hips. “Are you really going to tell me that magick is real?”

“Just as real as everything you saw in all of those dreams of yours.” Zordon said, hoping it would be enough to convince her.

That actually made Kimberly silent, which relieved Zordon. He knew this one was going to be a tough one. Then again, when was training an adolescent girl to fight for the fate of the world a simple task? He sighed and dropped his bag close to the open grave. He crouched down and opened it.

“So,” Kimberly folded her arms and looked around. “What would a witch want with bones?”

Zordon turned to her with a questioning look. “A witch?”

“Yeah, duh! You said someone is stealing bones to do magick, so, it’s gotta be a witch.” She said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

The older man closed his eyes and sighed. While she had raised a point, he didn’t really care for her attitude. “A witch wouldn’t use just bones, Ms. Hart. I will put in consideration for who is responsible for this though.”

Kimberly smiled briefly, glad she had said something right but quickly turned serious. “But if it’s not a witch, who is it?”

“If I knew, we wouldn’t be here now, would we?” He asked her patiently. “A number of magick practitioners could be responsible and I am only considering that this is the work of a human. Demons could behind it too. Then again, what kind-”

“Whoa!” Kimberly ran up to him. “Demons?”

Zordon got up to face her better. “Ms. Hart, from your dreams, are you still going to question that everything you ever believed to be a myth is not real?”

Kimberly blinked. That was true. From what she could remember from her dreams, she had seen a lot. Still… this was a lot to take in.

“I am aware it is a shock,” Zordon said as he walked around the grave. “Yet, the sooner you accept it, the better you are to perform your duties.”

“Look!” She snapped. “I’m sorry if this is totally okay with you but I just found out that demons and witches and sort of nasty things are like real real. Do you think I’m going to be able to sleep knowing there could be a boogeyman inside my closet or under my bed?”

Zordon tried to remain calm and remember that she was young and this must be hard for her. She didn’t grow up like he did. “You don’t have to worry about, hum, boogeymen in your room.”

“I don’t?” She sounded more relieved.

“Boogeymen don’t exist.” Zordon told her.

Kimberly sighed with a smile.

“Boggarts, on the other hand, don’t come inside houses so easily nowadays,” Zordon explained and saw Kimberly’s face fall.

“Boggarts?” Kimberly asked in a low and scared voice.

“We are getting away from the point here,” Zordon shook her head. “We can talk about the forces of darkness and creatures after we know why these bones are being gathered.”

Kimberly huffed but didn’t say anything else. She knew he wouldn’t talk about it and frankly, she had enough for today and didn’t want to know what else lurked out there.

“OK,” Kimberly sighed. “Why would anyone want a bunch of bones then?”

“Well, there are many sorts of rituals that can be accomplished by the use of human bones. There is also…” Zordon stopped talking as his eyes fixated behind Kimberly.

“What?” She asked and turned around immediately. What she saw made her scream, covering her mouth right after.

Approaching them was a skeleton, a walking skeleton. Its appearance was different from what a skeleton would look like. His bones looked eerily clean white and from the eye sockets, a low blue light glowed.

“Ohmigod!” Kimberly said freaked out, starting to back away. “What the hell is that?”

“A walking skeleton.” Zordon answered with no hint of humor as he studied to creature.

“Oh, thanks, captain obvious!” Kimberly couldn’t take her eyes off it. “I mean, **what** is it? A demon?”

“No,” Zordon said. He was quite calm as the creature slowly but surely approached them. “Most demons are more ferocious. This thing seems to be a scout of some sort.”

“A scout?” Kimberly asked confused. “What is he doing here? Selling cookies to the undead?”

Zordon sighed in annoyance. “Not **that** kind of scout, Ms. Hart. I mean someone sent him here to scout. Probably the same person who has been taking the bones.”

“What do we do now?” She was ready to bolt out of there.

“Here,” Zordon reached inside his bag and took out a small mace. He handed it to Kimberly. “Used it on it. Disassembling the bones might terminate the spell it was done to make it walk.”

“What?!” Kimberly looked at Zordon he was crazier than she already thought he was. “You want me to fight that thing?”

“You are the Slayer,” Zordon pushed the mace into her hands, making her take it. “It is your duty.”

“I never fought before! I told you that!” She yelled. The creature was closer to them.

“It is not a jock,” Zordon explained. “A walking skeleton can’t hurt, Kimberly. You have powers. You more than equipped to face it.”

“Mr. Zordon!” Kimberly warned him as the skeleton stood right behind the man. Zordon looked at the skeleton, which didn’t move for a while before it grabbed the man and threw a few feet away.

As Zordon crashed on the ground away, Kimberly looked at the skeleton with wide eyes. She began to step back with the mace raised.

“Stronger than I believed,” Zordon commented to himself as he began to get up. “Kimberly, stand your ground carefully.”

“This thing just threw you like a garbage bag!” Kimberly commented as she waved the mace in front of it in a very ungraceful manner. “You said it couldn’t hurt!”

“It most likely can’t hurt you,” Zordon was up. “You have more resistance than me.”

Kimberly squealed and dove down as the skeleton tried to grab her. She rolled on the ground and remained crouched down behind the creature, using the mace to hit its legs but it didn’t make it fall like she expected.

“I think this is broken!” Kimberly shouted as she quickly got up. The skeleton had already turned around. “It didn’t fall.”

“Its bones must be more resistant,” Zordon observed. “Probably due to the magicks used to make it.”

“So, what do I do?” Kimberly asked as she backed away. The skeleton could be strong but it was definitely slow.

“Behead it.” Zordon told her.

“What?” Kimberly turned to look at him. The skeleton took the opportunity and grabbed her. She screamed but struggled with it, not allowing it to throw her in the air.

Zordon kept his distance watching as Kimberly tried to get off the hold of the skeleton. He crossed his arms and waited, wanting to see what the girl would do.

“Get off me, you bag of bones!” Kimberly demanded but she doubted the thing could actually hear her. Finally, she lifted one of her legs and pushed the thing away with more strength than she thought she had it. “Wow.”

The skeleton fell back but in no time, it got back on its feet, moving towards Kimberly again. The girl swung the mace, this time more effectively, across the skull, making it twist in its spine. This seemed to disorientate it.

“Kimberly,” Zordon called to her. “The head seems to really be its weak spot. Behead it.”

Kimberly looked at him, annoyed he was simply standing there and doing nothing. She sighed in frustration and swung the mace against the skull again, hitting it with her strength. The skeleton now seemed dazed.

“Don’t you have something that I can actually use to take the head off?” Kimberly asked in annoyance as she kept whacking the skeleton’s head but the skull wouldn’t come off.

“I might have it in my bag.” Zordon said. He didn’t move from his spot.

“Can’t you help me?” Kimberly asked angrily as she kept hitting the skull. “Are you just going to stand there and-”

The skeleton grabbed the mace with a strong grip and use its other hand to hold Kimberly’s other hand. It quickly pried the weapon out of the girl’s hand and used both hands to begin strangling her. Kimberly tried to take its hands off her neck but it seemed to get stronger or angrier. The two began to move backward as they fought.

“Kimberly!” Zordon warned her loudly. He was beginning to move to help her.

“I…” The hold on her neck was getting tighter and she was beginning to feel difficulty to breathe. She decided to grab the skull and the neck bone with her hands, almost as if trying to strangle the skeleton back. She tried her best to focus but her vision was blurring. She had to do something fast.

Zordon was about to walk behind them when Kimberly yelled and with her bare hands took the skull off the rest of the skeleton. For a split second, she and the creature remained still before she yelled as the bones fell apart on top of her, making her fall into the open grave.

“Kimberly,” Zordon dropped on all fours and looked inside the grave to see the girl brushing the bones and dust off her. “Are you alright?”

“Of course I’m not alright!” She yelled in annoyance. She got up and dusted off her clothes. “A fricking skeleton almost choked me to death and now I’m inside a hole in the ground. How is any of this alright?”

“Well,” Zordon reached and showed her the skull. “You slew it. Sort of speaking.”

“Yay me.” She rolled her eyes and put her hands on her waist. “Well, are you going to keep just looking or are you going to actually help me now and get me out of here?”

Zordon put the skull aside and reached down with his hand to help her. The girl grabbed his hand and two worked together to lift her up. After a minute, Kimberly was out of the grave, looking inside it and adjusting herself.

“Think those are the same bones they took it?” She asked.

“I very much doubt it.” Zordon looked at the bones. “It most likely-Ow!”

He stepped back, rubbing his arm that Kimberly had just punched. She looked at him quite angry as she lowered her fist and crossed her arms, tapping her foot.

“What do you think you are doing?” Zordon asked appalled at the girl’s action.

“You almost let that thing kill me!” She argued. “You were just there watching!”

“That is part of my job.” He explained which seemed to make her even angrier.

“Part of your job?” Kimberly asked in disbelief. “What does that even mean?”

“I’m a Watcher.” Zordon said.

Kimberly looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“Your Watcher, to be more precise.” He explained as he moved to get his bag.

“My… Watcher?” Kimberly asked looking at him walking. “Ew!”

“Not like that!” He told her immediately. “It is a nomenclature given to the ones responsible to train and guide a Slayer.”

“Oh,” Kimberly seemed to understand. “But, Watchers, really?”

“I didn’t choose it if that makes you feel better,” He told her as he grabbed his bag and handed her purse that had fallen on the ground during the fight with the skeleton. “Neither the title or the job.”

Kimberly accepted the purse and looked at him strangely. “So… you were chosen or, hum, called like I was?”

“Not quite,” He said as he began walking away with Kimberly following him. “My family has always been part of the Watcher’s Council. It was part of my destiny to become one too.”

“Watcher’s Council?” She asked confused.

“A very ancient council that oversees the protection of the Earth from the forces of darkness,” He explained. “We are also responsible for the Slayers.”

“So, you are the guys who chose me?” Kimberly asked.

“No,” Zordon shook his head. “The Council doesn’t have the power to choose the Slayer. In specific situations, it has been able to deduce who would become the Slayer, but it doesn’t give the powers to the girl.”

“Oh, OK,” Kimberly nodded, feeling a little lost still. “So… who chose me?”

“Destiny.” Zordon said simply.

Kimberly rolled her eyes. “You love throwing that word around, don’t you?”

“It is the truth, Kimberly,” He said. “Whether you like it or not.”

“OK, OK,” Kimberly stopped walking, prompting Zordon to do the same. “I still have like a dozen more questions to make, you know, right?”

Zordon nodded. “That is to be expected, of course.”

She looked around. She did have a lot of questions but she didn’t know where to start. All of this was crazy, really. She just fought a skeleton for Pete’s sake!

“I take it that you believe me know, then.” Zordon stated.

“Believe you?” Kimberly tilted her head to the side.

“About being a Slayer,” He elaborated. “That it is your… destiny to be the Slayer.”

She sighed in defeat. After tonight, there was no way to ignore it. “I suppose…”

“Good,” He gave her a short nod and began to walk towards where they had entered the graveyard. “We can discuss more in a better place.”

“Wait!” She ran to catch up with him. “Are just going to leave? I thought we came here to investigate. We found nothing!”

“We found a walking skeleton,” Zordon gave her a look. “That gives us more than you know it.”

“Well, then I really don’t know it, ‘cause I didn’t get it.” She told him honestly.

“I will explain it, Ms. Hart.” Zordon reassured her.

“I’m going to suck at this Slayer thing, aren’t I?” She asked more to herself but loud enough to make Zordon hear her.

“You are young,” Zordon told her as both exited the graveyard. It was quite late and there wasn’t anyone walking on the streets. “You have just been Called. With time, you will understand everything better.”

“Think so?” She asked wanting his honest opinion.

Before Zordon could answer, a figure jumped in front of them and pushed Zordon away with enough strength to make the old man crash into his parked car. Kimberly saw what it was. It was a man with rugged clothes, a human man. Except of course for the twisted face. His forehead had bumps in it, his eyes were yellow and his teeth were all pointy. He hissed and jumped on her.

Kimberly screamed but surprisingly, she grabbed him and threw him over her, making him fall on the pavement. She looked at her own hands, still surprised she had this strength. The man was much bigger than she was.

“Mr. Zordon?” She called out not taking her eyes off the man-monster. “What is he supposed to be?”

“Ugh,” Zordon rubbed his head. This was really not his night. “He’s a vampire.”

“A vampire?” She asked in disbelief and looking at Zordon. There really was everything in the world.

“A fairly common species of it,” He opened his bag and rummaged through its contents. “Don’t underestimate it though. Oh, and look out.”

“What?” Kimberly turned her head back and the vampire was already advancing on her. He tackled her to the ground, viciously trying to bite her neck. “You distracted me!”

Zordon sighed and took out a simple wooden stake out of his bag. “You should be aware of your surroundings at all times. Especially when you know there is a vampire right in front of you.”

Kimberly shoved the vampire away with her arms and legs and jumped to her feet. The vampire was already up too but wasn’t charging, instead, looking at her, waiting for her to attack. “If he’s a vampire, do I kill it like they do it in the movies?”

“This one in particular, yes. Here,” He threw the stake, which she grabbed. “Aim for the heart.”

Kimberly looked at the stake and then at the vampire. Instinctively, she held it like a weapon and positioned herself in a fighting stance. Huh. She didn’t know she could do that. The vampire hissed and lunged.

She welcomed him with a perfect roundhouse kick to the face, making him fall on the floor on his back. “Hoh! Did you see that? I didn’t know I could do that!”

“Ms. Hart,” Zordon looked at her crossly. “The vampire?”

“Oh! Right, right.” She moved to stand right on top of him. Swiftly, she plunged the stake… right in the middle of his chest. She smiled but the vampire just looked at the stake and then at her. “Uh…”

He kicked her in the face, making her fall back. He took the stake out and threw it away from them. Once again, Kimberly had the vampire on top of her and she struggled not to let him bite her.

Zordon shook his head in disbelief. “Have you had any anatomy classes? You clearly don’t know where a heart is!”

“Give me a break!” She yelled as she tried to push away the vampire. The two eventually started to roll around on the street. Kimberly tried to stay on top but the vampire kept rolling so he could be on top.

Zordon looked around, trying to find the stake. He hadn’t brought any more of them, not really thinking they would come across vampires that night since he hadn’t read any news about deaths due to blood loss.

Kimberly glimpsed at the man once again just standing and not helping her and huffed in annoyance. She was doing a good job of not letting the vampire bite her but she couldn’t take him off her. Tired of it, she grabbed him more forcefully and used her strength to make them both roll until he hit his back on the wall of the graveyard with enough force to let her free.

She quickly got to her feet and kicked his face, trying to keep him down. “A little help would be appreciated!”

“He threw the stake away.” Zordon said not looking at her, still searching for the weapon.

Kimberly couldn’t believe him. The vampire got up and was about to sneak up on her when she hit him with her elbow, making him stumble back. She used her other hand to punch him, creating a bigger distance between the two.

“Hey!” Kimberly shouted at Zordon’s direction but this time keeping her attention on the vampire. “I know you are a Watcher and that pretty much sums up what you’ve done all night but aren’t going to like get fired or something if I die?”

Zordon didn’t answer her. He moved away from the fight, apparently spotting the stake all the way across the street.

“Unbelievable!” Kimberly said. The vampire moved again and she kicked in once in the stomach, once in the chest and once in the face in quick succession. With the creature taken back, Kimberly ran towards her purse and picked up from the floor. She opened it, letting her back to the vampire. “Where is it?”

Zordon grabbed the stake and turned back to the fight to see Kimberly busy looking inside her purse while the vampire ran at her. “Kimberly!”

The girl, instead of looking up towards Zordon, dropped her purse and turned around, shoving a makeup pencil in the vampire’s chest, this time, in the right place. She looked at it for a second before the vampire alongside his clothes and the pencils disintegrated into gray dust. She jumped back, surprised. She didn’t know **that** was going to happen.

Zordon ran up to her, stake still in hands. He looked surprised at the pile of dust where the vampire once stood. Kimberly looked at him cheekily and crossed her arms, proud of herself.

“See?” She said with a teasing tone. “I so know where the heart is.”

“An… impressive display, to say the least.” A third voice said.

The two turned to see a little person, more specifically, a little man approaching them. He was dressed in a dark red suit with a yellow tie. He had red and gold-rimmed glasses on his face and thin quantity of blond hair on his head. He turned his eyes from the pile to the two. He looked at Kimberly from head to toe before turning to give a small smile to Zordon.

“That is she, then.” The little man said. He sounded American, unlike Zordon.

“Who are you?” Kimberly asked suspiciously. She had enough ‘excitement’ for one single night.

“You can call me Mr. Alpha,” He nodded to her. “Miss…hum…”

“Kimberly Hart.” Zordon answered for her. He smiled at Mr. Alpha but looked confused to see him there. “Alpha, what are you doing here?”

“Council sent me,” He explained still looking at Kimberly almost as if he were studying her. “I am to act as a liaison.”

“A what?” Kimberly asked confused.

“A liaison?” Zordon asked at the same time. “Alpha, I am Ms. Hart’s Watcher and there is no eminent world-level threat, why would the Council find the need to send you?”

He gave an apologetic look to Zordon. “Do not take this personally, Zordon. They have complete faith in your abilities as a Watcher.”

“But?” Zordon asked expecting a reason for having a liaison to the Council.

“Zordon, this is Angel Grove,” Alpha reminded him. “You know what that alone means. Besides, since Ms. Hart is a native of the city and she has just been Called, they want everything to go by the books. I am sure you can understand that.”

Zordon shook his head. He could understand the reason but there must’ve been another reason for the Council to send Alpha here. He trusted the man. They had worked together for years after all. Still, it was too suspicious.

“Hum,” Kimberly raised her hand. “Hello, is anyone going to explain what the hell is going on?”

“Has Mr. Zordon explained to you what the Watcher’s Council is?” Alpha asked her.

“Briefly.” She answered.

“Well,” Alpha walked over to Zordon’s car. “I suppose you are quite tired from my test, so we will meet-”

“Whoa! Back up, buddy!” Kimberly raised her voice. “Your test?”

Alpha simply eyed the pile of dust.

“You sent the vampire to attack me?” She asked in disbelief and turned to Zordon. “Did you know about this?”

“I certainly did not.” He turned to his colleague. “Alpha, care to explain?”

“Zordon,” He looked at man. “It’s traditional for a Slayer to fight a vampire after she is Called.”

“She hasn’t had proper training.” Zordon explained.

“I had zero training, thank you very much!” Kimberly threw her hands up. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“Hardly,” Alpha shook his head. “And as the Slayer, you should expect an attack, not just from a vampire but from anything. Especially at night. In front of a graveyard.

Kimberly sighed. Okay, he had a point. Still.

“Well,” Zordon said with a calming tone. “It has been a long night and I believe Ms. Hart must get to her home now.”

“Yeah,” Kimberly eyed Alpha suspiciously one last time before turning to Zordon. “It’s pretty late. My dad is gonna go mental if I don’t get home soon.”

“I’ll take you there,” Zordon said. “And since tomorrow is a Saturday, we’ll have the whole day to talk. About everything.”

“Fun.” Kimberly said picking up her purse, her tone clearly being the opposite of what she said.

“And you, Alpha?” Zordon asked. “I believe since you brought a vampire, you had people from the Council brought you here.”

“I did,” He sighed. “But you know them. Left the bloodsucker and me and went their merry way. Care to give me a ride as well?”

“Not at all.” Zordon said.

Kimberly, Alpha, and Zordon got inside the car and drove away, none of them uttering a word as the vehicle made a turn and disappeared from the view. Meaning they didn’t have the chance to see a person leaning against the corner of a wall across the street from the graveyard in green hoodie.

\--

Zordon parked the car in front of the building Kimberly lived in. He turned the engine off and looked at the girl sitting in the passenger’s seat. She hadn’t said anything and she looked miles away.

“Ms. Hart?” He called but she still had her eyes looking nowhere. “Kimberly?”

She shook her head and turned to him, still looking a bit lost. “Yeah?”

“You are home.” He motioned to the outside and Kimberly looked through the window.

“Oh, right.” She grabbed the handle to open the door but didn’t open it.

“It is fine, Ms. Hart,” Zordon said, guessing what was going through her head. “I’ll give you all the answers tomorrow.

“Right,” She opened the door but remained seated. She turned to him. “Where do you I find you? At school?”

“No,” He laughed lightly. “I do have a life outside of the school, Ms. Hart. Here, this is my address. I believe you can take the bus to get there.”

She grabbed the small piece of paper he took out from his jacket and looked at it. She didn’t recognize the address. “The bus?”

“You certainly not going to ask your parents to drop you there, are you?” Alpha asked. His tone wasn’t mean but he sounded like if she actually would consider that.

“No!” She snapped at him. “I’ll take the bus.”

“First thing in the morning.” Zordon told her.

“In the morning?” Kimberly whined. “Really? On a Saturday?”

“Ms. Hart,” Zordon began but she raised a hand making him stop.

“I know, I know,” She rolled her eyes. “Destiny and the Slayer and my duties and the monsters and all that. I get it. It’s totally important.”

“Totally.” Alpha piped in.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Whatever. I’ll see you tomorrow then. Right after my dad leaves.”

“Try to get some rest,” Zordon said more gently. “And don’t worry about the bruises. By morning, they will all be healed up and any marks will be gone.”

“Really?” She asked looking at her arms. “So, I get super healing too? Or is it supernatural healing?”

“You will be fine.” Zordon said, changing his tone to make sure they would talk more tomorrow.

“Fine, fine,” She got out of the car. “I guess… bye, then?”

“Have a good night, Ms. Hart.” Both Zordon and Alpha said at the same time.

She nodded and closed the door. Zordon turned the car on and drove away. She watched them go for some time her head filled a million different thoughts. She still couldn’t believe everything that had happened that night actually happened. She sighed, turning to face the building and looked up to her apartment.

“So much for being normal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, all the cheerleaders are named after famous fictional mean girls from movies and series. As for Muffy Autumn, you can tell her name is a play on Buffy Summers.


End file.
